Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective

Pat Summitt

Language: English

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Published: Mar 5, 2013

Description:

Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history and bestselling author of Reach for the Summitt and Raise The Roof, tells for the first time her remarkable story of victory and resilience as well as facing down her greatest challenge: early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Pat Summitt was only 21 when she became head coach of the Tennessee Vols women's basketball team. For 38 years, she has broken records, winning more games than any NCAA team in basketball history. She has coached an undefeated season, co-captained the first women's Olympic team, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and has been named Sports Illustrated 'Sportswoman of the Year'.
She owes her coaching success to her personal struggles and triumphs. She learned to be tough from her strict, demanding father. Motherhood taught her to balance that rigidity with communication and kindness. She is a role model for the many women she's coached; 74 of her players have become coaches.
Pat's life took a shocking turn in 2011, when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible brain condition that affects 5 million Americans. Despite her devastating diagnosis, she led the Vols to win their sixteenth SEC championship in March 2012. Pat continues to be a fighter, facing this new challenge the way she's faced every other--with hard work, perseverance, and a sense of humor.

From the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Basketball legend Pat Summitt recalls her life in vivid detail, describing its triumphs, both on and off the court.... With her trademark honesty and grace, Summitt reveals her fears, her early anger and astonishment, her diminishing abilities, her decision to retire, and how her faith sustains her."—USA Today

About the Author

PAT SUMMITT became head coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in 1974; since then she has achieved an astounding .843 average and won 8 national championships. She is the first coach in NCAA history to reach 1,000 wins. She lives in Tennessee with her son, Tyler. SALLY JENKINS is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller It's Not About the Bike. Her other 8 books include The Real All-Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation, and The State of Jones. Her work has been featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, and Sports Illustrated. A native of Texas, Jenkins graduated from Stanford and lives in New York City.